Automatic reclosing circuit breaker



Jan. 8, 1946. w. D. KYLE, JR.. ETAL 2,392,433

AUTQMATIC RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER 2 Sheets-sheaf. 1

Original Filed June 6, 1941 INVENTORS Mum! 0 lKY/f 1/9 6 WWW Arrow/[KJan. 8, 1946.

w. D. KYLE, JR.. ETAL 2,392,483

AUTOMATIC RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER Origin'al Filed June 6, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet 2 /////////////////11/11/11.'I/Ill/I/I/l/Il/lI/I/l/I/Alll/II/I/I/IIII/l/I/I/II/I/II/l/IA '////////////////////A 20 I. 19 g :1J5

INVEN TORS Mum/n A Kym (/0. By 6 M1 Jaw/101,54

47 ORA/E),

Patenterl Jan. 8, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC RECLOSINGCIRCUIT BREAKER William D. Kyle,

Jr., Milwaukee,

and Carl Schindler, Wauwatosa, Wis assignors to Kyle Corporation, SouthMilwaukee, Win, a corporationo! Wisconsin 3 Claims.

This invention relates to automatic reclosing circuit breakers and is adivision of our application for Automatic reclosing circuit breakers,Serial No. 396,850, flied June 6, 1941.

Objects of this invention are to provide a aircuit breaker in whichpairs of contacts are adapted to be separated under predeterminedconditions, and in which insulating baflle means is provided between thecontacts forming a pair and so arranged that accumulating sedimentcannot form a conducting path between the contacts.

In greater detail, objects of this invention are to provide a circuitbreaker in which a pair of stationary contacts project upwardly from aninsulating base and in .which baifle means having upright portionslocated between the contacts are provided with integral outwardlyextending foot portions located below the contacts.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away and partly in section,of the automatic reclosing circuit breaker.

Figure 2 is a. fragmentary sectional view on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 2 showing a further form ofthe invention.

Figure 5 is a view showing a still further form of the invention.

The circuit breaker is oil immersed and is mounted within the oilcontaining metal can I which is provided with a removable top 2removably held to the can in any suitable manner.

A convenient way of attaching the top to the can is by means of aplurality of bolts 3 which are pivotally mounted between spaced ears 4carried by the can and which are provided with wing nuts 5. The wingnuts are adapted to bear against L-shaped clamping plates 6 whose downwardly extending portions are adapted to rest upon the upper faces ofthe ears 4, a suitable lug I being provided on each of the ears toprevent the clamping plates 6 from slidingloflf theupper surface of theears 4,. A suitable sealing gasket, not shown, is positioned between thecan and the cover.

Any suitable attaching means as indicated at 8 and 9 are provided on thecan so that the can may be attached to a pole or other suitable support.

The cap or cover 2 is provided with line and load terminals which arecarried by insulating bushings one or which is shown and indicated bythe reference character "I.

The automatic reclosing circuit breaker is suspended in its entiretyfrom the metal cover 2. The circuit breaker is provided with theelectromagnetic coil or solenoid II which surrounds an insulating tubeor sleeve l2.

A non-magnetic operating rod H for the circuit breaker extends upwardlycentrally of the insulating tube I2 and on this rod 9. plunger M ofmagnetic material is freely slidable.

The operating rod I3 of the circuit breaker rigidly carries a spiderlike stop l5 which loosely fits within the sleeve l2 and which serves asan abutment against which the upper end of the magnetic plunger l4strikes when the coil H is energized by an overload current. When thisoccurs, the plunger I4 is suddenly drawn upwardly into the coil andstrikes the abutmentv I5, carrying the rod l3 upwardly.

The lower end of the rod I3 is rigidly secured to an insulatincross-head it, see Figure 2. The cross-head l6 carries a pair of contactrods II to which are rigidly attached a pair of contact sleeves ill, seeFigures 2 and 3. The contact sleeves l8 normally engage the stationarycontact pins l9. JIhese stationary contacts or contact pins I9 areconnected to the line and load terminals of the circuit breaker.

It is to be noted particularly with reference to Figures-2 and 3 thatthe stationary contact pins i9 constitute stops. a ainst which the lowerends of the contact rods l'i abut when the circuit breaker is closed.

It is preferable to make the contact pins or sta tionary contacts 19split as shown in Figure 3 and to have the movable contacts or sleevesl8 engage the pins it with a wiping motion to insure a clean contact atall times. The arcing upon separation of the movable and stationarycontact does not occur between the sieves l8 and the pins 19 butseparate arcing'contac ts are provided in the form of conducting rollers20 which may be of metal and which are carried by-leaf springs 2|clamped in place as shown in Figure 3. These arcing contacts 28 are thelast members that engage the movable contacts 18. All the arcing occursbetween the arcing contacts 20 and the outer surfaces of the sleeves l8,thus maintaining the inner surfaces of the sleeves and the outersurfaces of the pins in good condition free from pitting although thecircuit breaker may have operated a great number of times.

The arcing contacts are readily renewable and it is also easy to renewthe sleeves l8, it this becomes necessary, by driving out the lockingpin or other suitable securing means 22, see Figure 3, and replacing theold sleeves with new sleeves. This very rarely happens, however, for thearcing occurs, as stated, between the outer surfaces of the sleeves l8and the arcing contacts 20.

It is to be noted particularly that the upper- If, on the other hand,the active contact had been a butt contact and the arcing had occurredbetween the butt contact, there would be a gradual wearing away of thiscontact through continued use of the circuit breaker and consequentlythe circuit breaker would operate only at an increased current as thetime of service increased. However, in the invention herein described,the circuit breaker will always respond at exactly the samepredetermined value of overload current.

The contact rods I! are connected by flexible leaders 23 with oppositeends of the coil I I so that the coil H is in series between the lineand load terminals and directly across the movable contacts l8.

It is preferable to encase the lower portion of the circuit breaker,that is to say, the stationary and movable contacts, within aninsulating cylindrical sleeve 24. The upper end of the sleeve 24 isclosed, except for passageways which form no portion of the presentinvention, by means of th collar or member 25 and the lower end of thesleeve 24 is closed by means of the base member 26. The base member isprovided with an oil inlet opening 21, see Figure 1, which is normallyclosed by a downwardly seating flap 28.

As will be seen from Figure 2, the insulating base member 26 issuspended by means of the insulating rods 29. These rods extend upwardlyto the portion 25 and are internally threaded at their upper and lowerends to receive the bolts to thereby lock the rods in place and to thebase 26. The insulating sleeve or shell 24 is therefore clamped betweenthe insulating head or collar 25 and the insulating base 26.

It is preferable to provide insulating partitions extending upwardlybetween the spaced contacts. These partitions may take the form of twomembers 30 of insulating material which have integrally formed,outwardly bent foot portions 3|, see Figure 2. The foot portions areclamped in place by the stationary contacts. The members 30 may be incontact with each other, as shown in Figure 2, or may be spaced apart,as shown in Figure 4, or may be spaced apart at their lower ends and mayapproach each other or be in contact at their upper ends, as shown inFigure 5.

By having the base or foot portions 3| of the members or baiiles 30integral with the vertical portions thereof, it is apparent that anyconducting sediment that may settle down between the stationary contactswill not form a bridge path from one contact to the other. Further, inview of the fact that the members 30 and 3| are integral, it is apparentthat no conducting sediment can form and lead up to a short gap acrosswhich the arc would strike.

In Figure 4 a different form of insulating battle has been illustrated.These bailles have the same shape as those previously described andconsist of the vertical portions 32 and the horizontal foot portions 33,but thesebafiles are spaced apart to allow an oil space between thebaflles.

The baifies may also take another form as shown in Figure 5, in whichthe upright portions of the insulating bafiles are indicated at 34 andthe foot portions or horizontal portions at'85. The upstanding portions36' may engage each other at their upper ends but are spaced at theirlower ends to provide an oil space.

The circuit breaker is automatic in its operation'and is adapted to lockout after a certain number of operations and has oil cushioning meansand oil pumping'means and automatic and manual trip means, as well asmanual reset means, but inasmuch as these features form no portion ofthis invention, a. description and disclosure thereof has been omitted.These features are, however, as set forth in our companion casehereinbefore identified of which this application is a division.

Suffice it to say that when an overload occurs, the plunger l 4 is drawnupwardly and strikes the spider like stop [5 rigid with the rod l 3 andraises the cross-head l6, which raises the rigidly attached contactrodsll and consequently moves the movable contacts or sleeves 58 fromthe stationary contacts or pins IS, the last contact being establishedthrough the outer surface of the sleeves l8 and the arcing contacts 25,the arcing, therefore, being conflned to the outer surface of thesleeves l8.

It is also apparent that in the event the outer surfaces of the sleevesI8 or the arcing contacts 20 may have become seriously pitted, they canbe most easily renewed.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 4 a metal cross-head l5 hasbeen provided and is rigidly attached to the metal rods ll. With thistype of construction the two stationary contacts are connectedrespectively to a line terminal and to one side of the solenoid II, theother side of the solenoid ll being connected to the load terminal.

It is obvious that as some wear occurs in the operation of the circuitbreaker, there is a tendency for conducting sediment or material toaccumulate to a slight degree adjacent the spaced stationary contacts.However, by means of the insulating baffle construction there is nochance for a conducting path to form from one stationary contact to theother.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, it isto be understood that such description is intended as illustrativerather than limiting, as the invention may be variously embodied and isto be interpreted as claimed.

We claim:

1. A circuit breaker comprising a pair of spaced stationary contacts anda pair of movable contacts, means for moving said movable contacts awayfrom said stationary contacts, insulating bafile means located betweensaid spaced stationary contacts and being in the form of .a pair ofoutwardly projecting plates each having an integral foot portion bentlaterally in a direction away from the other of said plates andextending below the spaced stationary contacts, whereby any conductingsediment that may accumulate adjacent said stationary contacts cannotform a conducting path between said stationary contacts.

2. A circuit breaker comprising a pair of spaced stationary contacts anda pair of movable contacts, means for moving said movable contacts awayfrom said stationary contacts, insulating baille means located betweensaid spaced stationary contacts and being in the form '01 a pair ofoutwardly projecting plates each having an integral foot portion bentlaterally in a direction away from the other of said plates andextending below the spaced stationary contacts, whereby any conductingsediment that may accumulate adjacent said stationary contacts cannotform a conducting path between said stationary con tacts, said baffiemeans having at least a portion of the outwardly projecting plates incontact with each other. v

3. A circuit breaker comprising a pair of spaced stationary contacts anda pair of movable contacts, means for moving said movable contacts awayfrom said stationary contacts. insulating baflle means located betweensaid spaced stationary contacts and being in the form of a pair ofoutwardly projecting plates each having an integral foot portion bentlaterally in a direction away from the other of said plates andextending below the spaced stationary contacts, whereby any conductingsediment that may accumulate adjacent said stationary contacts cannotform a conducting path between said stationary contacts, said bafliemeans having at least a portion of the outwardly projecting plates outof contact with each other.

WILLIAM D. KYLE, JR. CARL SCHINDLER.

